Category Archives: Uncategorized

Having been on hot on the trails of my Day ancestors, I’ve found deeds and other documents stating that Jeremiah Day, son of Sgt. Thomas and Elizabeth (Jewett) Day, was a yeoman. Imagine my surprise to find this posting on the Yale University Website, attributing Jeremiah Day with the production of this beautiful high chest of drawers? The site states there are multiple affidavits to certify the piece’s construction in the mid-18th Century, as well as family letters describing the piece’s creator. (Click here to go to the Yale page, and scroll to the bottom to view the envelope. The addressee, Elsie (Day) Clark.)

In addition to this gem, the Winterthur Museum and Library in Delaware has a photograph of another piece of furniture attributed to Jeremiah. Posted on the ArchiveGrid, details available here.

Three individuals named Jeremiah are listed in the Ipswich vital records: Jeremiah, son of Thomas and Elizabeth, his son, and grandson, also by the same name. The Yale listing states Jeremiah’s year of birth as 1712, consistent with vital records, while Winterthur states the cabinetmaker’s birth was in 1717, likely a typo. My next goal is to obtain further documentation of these items, and will post most if the libraries are able to provide more info. For now, I will be happy to look at this gorgeous piece of furniture.

Anti-McClellan broadside gives impression the Union was always the friend of the slaves.

Growing up my mother spoke passionately against racism. She abhorred prejudice of all kinds. It surprised me as a child, as I never observed anything close to racism in the quiet little southern California town in which I grew up. However, my mom’s passion likely grew from the time she spent in the south, serving in the Army in the early 1960s. It was an era of horrendous discrimination and segregation, and it clearly affected her.

In my naiveté, I was so proud of my mother’s New England heritage. Clearly my mother’s ancestors had no role in slavery. We were Yankees. My ancestors served on the Union side in the Civil War. However, as I studied more, I came to understand that New England has fought hard to rewrite history, trivializing their role during those critical years. Many of New England’s many ship captains earned their wealth transporting slaves to the U.S. New England’s farms supplied produce to those involved in the slave trade. During the colonial era, one in four New Englanders owned at least one slave. Okay, so my Yankee roots aren’t as great as I once thought.

However, my father’s southern roots pain me no end. My ancestry there is firmly planted in Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas. In addition to the Yankees, I have Confederate soldiers in my family tree. I am afraid to know what role my southern forefathers played in the issues surrounding slavery, and how their descendants treated their dark-skinned neighbors after the end of the Civil War.

Bishop Davis Wasgatt Clark, abolitionist and first president of the Freedman’s Aid Society

So it was with great joy that I recently learned that my second cousin five times removed, Bishop Davis Wasgatt Clark, a Methodist minister and renowned author, was a devoted abolitionist. Born in 1812 on Mount Desert Island, Maine, Davis was the first president of the Freedman’s Aid Society, which provided education for freed slaves and their children. They were instrumental in raising the literacy rates of blacks immediately after the conclusion of the Civil War, a priority for slaves to be able to find profitable occupations. Clark College was named in his honor, and later merged with Atlanta University to become the Clark Atlanta University. More details can be found on the NAACP website at http://www.naacpconnect.org/blog/entry/hbcu-profile-clark-atlanta-university.

Davis Wasgatt Clark was not the only outspoken person in his family. His grandfather and namesake, Davis Wasgatt, had alienated himself from friends and neighbors in Eden (now known as Bar Harbor), Maine, when he became a staunch Anabaptist. Davis was also a Revolutionary War soldier, a solid patriot, and one who felt that actions spoke louder than words.

While New England was far from innocent in the evolution of slavery in the U.S., and my ancestors likely did have some sort of role that I will eventually discover, right now I’m pretty proud of my Maine ancestors. Of course, my Wasgatt family stands out prominently among them.

Hot off the press and available today at NGS – the new Genealogy Standards, and Hairstyles 1840-1900. I’ve been waiting for both!

My husband and I arrived in Richmond yesterday. While he was out perusing the old homestead of Thomas Jefferson today, I was like a kid in a candy store, indulging in one of the greatest genealogical conferences of all – NGS. Wow!

This morning’s opening session began with a keynote address from Sandra Gioia Treadway of the Library of Virgina. She described how libraries and archives must prepare to change with the times, and how the Library of Virginia plans to do just that. If Treadway has her way, in a mere seven years’ time patrons will have a substantially different experience when visiting the library. They will find themselves met by staff assisted by iPads and other technological devices, better able to help patrons find the materials they are searching for. It is an exciting era, that’s for sure.

The exhibit hall was quite packed with the usual vendors and service providers – FamilySearch, Ancestry, NEHGS, Find My Past, My Heritage and many more. Lisa Louise Cooke, Maurine Taylor (aka the Photo Detective) and Janet Hvorka with Family Chart Masters shared a booth and provided “out of the box” educational sessions.

Lectures I attended today included:

Problems and Pitfalls in a Reasonably Shallow Search, by Elissa Powell, CG, CGL

New Standards of Old: Guidelines for Effective Research and Family Histories, by Thomas Jones, CG, CGL, FASG, FUGA, FNGS

The Sociology of Cemeteries, by Helen Shaw, CG

Looking forward to another jam-packed day tomorrow, learning from the experts and the best in the field of genealogy!

It’s almost here! The NGS 2014 Family History Conference, that is! Previously a California girl, I was spoiled with easy access to the Southern California Genealogical Society’s annual Jamboree. I’ve missed their large conference the last couple of years, and am elated that the 2014 NGS event is within driving distance from my home in Delaware. Now my only dilemma is trying to figure out which sessions to attend! There are so many great tracks that I’m having difficulty deciding, and will definitely be purchasing some of the audio-recorded sessions. However, for now, this is what I’ve tentatively planned:

Wednesday

11 a.m. Hell on the Home Front: War-Time Damages & the Claims They Generated by Elizabeth Shown Mills

2:30 p.m. New Standards or Old: Guidelines for Effective Research and Family Histories, by Thomas W. Jones

4:00 p.m. My Ancestor Came to Colonial America as a Transported Convict, by Nathan W. Murphy

From childhood, the mailbox has always created a sense of expectancy for me. However, genealogy has created an obsession with mail delivery. What genealogist isn’t waiting for something at any given moment? I will be very happy this afternoon if I receive any of the following items I’m currently waiting for:

1) My grandmother’s social security application.

2) The Milo Story, a book about Milo (of course!) in Piscataquis County, Maine, by Lloyd J. Treworgy.

3) Documents from new-found cousin, including photos and a copy of a chart drawn in the late 1800s showing relationships to a common ancestor.

4) Notification of approval of my Daughters of the American Revolution application.

5) Notification of approval of my Mayflower Society application.

What are you hoping to find in YOUR mailbox today?

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